Men’s Tennis to open SEC play versus No. 41 Mississippi State, No. 14 Ole Miss

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The Razorback men’s tennis team (4-4) is set for a pair of matches to open conference action against No. 41 Mississippi State and No. 14 Ole Miss.

Match 9, 10 Info

Opponents: Mississippi State Bulldogs // Ole Miss Rebels

Dates: Friday, Feb. 28 // Sunday, Mar. 1

Locations: Starkville, Miss. // Fayetteville, Ark.

First Serves: 3 p.m. // 1 p.m.

Live Stats and Stream at MSU: bit.ly/2wayKsw

Live Stats vs. Ole Miss: bit.ly/2HZrG4n

After two-straight losses to Tulane and Texas Tech, Mississippi State picked up a pair of wins in a double-header with Tennessee State on Saturday, Feb. 22. The Bulldogs boast two nationally ranked players, Giovanni Oradini and Florian Broska. No. 39 Oradini is 5-3 at the No. 1 spot while No. 73 Broska holds an 8-2 record overall and 7-2 at No. 2.

Ole Miss is riding a four-match winning streak that includes three top-50 wins. Tim Sandkaulen is 3-2 this spring but ranked No. 55, while Simon Junk has gone a perfect 7-0 in singles play. The Rebels come into the weekend with a .733 winning percentage in doubles and a record of 11-4. Ole Miss is set to face No. 12 TCU on Friday, Feb. 28 before coming to Fayetteville.

Last Time Out

The Razorbacks fell at Tulsa on Feb. 19, 4-3, playing their third-straight match all the way out. Arkansas opened the match by picking up its second doubles point in a row, getting wins on court two and three. No. 111 Alex Reco tied up the scoring at the No. 2 spot after the Golden Hurricane notched two-straight singles wins. Enrique Paya then squared the scoring once again with a 7-6 (7-4), 6-2 straight-set win before Tulsa won the final and deciding point on court five.

Quick Hits

>> The Razorbacks can earn the programs first win over Mississippi State since 2008 while the Hogs and Rebels have split their last four contests.

>> Arkansas will be looking for its first road win of the season when it heads to Starkville for a Friday match against the Bulldogs.

>> Nationally ranked (No. 111) Alex Reco continues to lead the Hogs in singles action as he holds a 7-1 record overall, primarily playing at the No. 2 spot.

>> Enrique Paya has put together an impressive spring, going 6-1 this season and winning four-straight contests. Paya and Reco tied last season for the most singles wins (13) among Razorbacks during the dual season.

>> The No. 3 doubles duo of Jose Dominguez Alonso and Melvin Manuel has won six out of their eight matches this season, including the last two.